Christian 'American Idol' Crowns Winner
Winner Announced in ‘Gifted’ Two Hour Grand Finale
Da’Quela Payne of Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee came out as the winner of Trinity Broacast Network’s (TBN) hit reality show “Gifted.”
Payne beat out eight other finalists in the final episode of the show, and will now have a major recording contract with EMI Christian Music Group, a major Christian music label.
Millions of viewers tuned into the program broadcasted on TBN Friday night, the culmination of months of nationwide searching for the next top Christian music star.
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"TBN shined tonight with ‘Gifted.’ It was an amazing production, first class all the way," said Susan Zahn, president of WDC Media, a prestige faith-based PR firm, in a statement Friday. "I was on pins and needles when they got down to the last two contestants, Da’Quela Payne and Damien Lawson."
The show, often described as the Christian version of “American Idol,” selected Payne as winner from some 16,000 contestants from around the United States, and three judges chose her from the final eight singers.
The show was hosted by Brian Littrell, member of the Grammy-winning boy band Backstreet Boys, who has now developed into a Christian soloist. Littrell also performed some songs throughout the program.
Multi-grammy Christian artist Andraé Crouch, EMI CMG Publishing president Eddie DeGarmo, and lead singer of Christian rock band Stryper, Michael Sweet, served as the three celebrity judges.
On Feb. 20, a DVD of “Gifted, Season One” will be released. The disc which will be released by EMI/Sparrow Records will include the two-hour broadcasted finale, the eight performances by the show’s finalists, and bonus behind-the-scenes, “all access” content.
The “Gifted” website, www.giftedshow.com, was also launched in tandem with the grand finale.
